7 essential leadership traits for 2016

2016 looks like it’s going to be a very challenging and disruptive year, in large part because regulators are going to dump complex rules and regulations on the table, and leave it to the industry to figure out how to put square pegs into round holes. With the prospect of increased uncertainty and complexity, there are seven essential leadership traits you’ll need to demonstrate in 2016: Link to article:

THE POWER OF SERVANT LEADERSHIP TO BUILD AND SUSTAIN STAKEHOLDER VALUE

During a recent series of stakeholder behavior instructional workshops conducted for our clients, one of the strongest areas of interest among workshop participants was how to gain senior management support and sponsorship for various customer-related and employee-related initiatives. For both inspiration and answers regarding the best and most effective approaches to apply, I turned to trailblazing ideas of the two “Fathers of Servant Leadership”, Max De Pree and Robert Greenleaf. Link to article:

Best Quotes from Four Dimensions of Extraordinary Leadership

We’ve had the privilege of interviewing Jenni Catron on our 5 Leadership Questions podcast several times. Here on Making Hard Decisions, and here on her new book The Four Dimensions of Extraordinary Leadership.Her latest book, The Four Dimensions of Extraordinary Leadership reveals the secrets to standout leadership found in the Great Commandment: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” She unpacks four essential aspects of growing more influential: your heart for relational leadership, your soul for spiritual leadership, your mind for managerial leadership, and your strength for visionary leadership. Link to article:

7 reasons why financial stewardship is more valuable than a fiduciary standard

With the recent release of the Labor Department’s re-proposed fiduciary definition, a lot of fiduciary advocates are concerned that “fiduciary” will become a de-minimus standard. It will become a floor, not a ceiling — a bronze, not a gold standard. For those who have been involved with the fiduciary movement, “fiduciary” has been more about defining a professional standard than a legal standard. It was a way for elite advisers to differentiate themselves in the marketplace. Now that we have seen how a regulator can maul the word “fiduciary,” we think there’s a better approach: define a higher professional standard of care. In this case, stewardship. Link to article

Don Trone Blasts DOL Fiduciary Plan: Still Wouldn’t Stop Madoff

Don Trone, often referred to as the “Father of Fiduciary,” testified at a Department of Labor hearing on Thursday that its proposed fiduciary rulemaking would have failed to stop famed Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff, and that more fiduciaries than brokers have stolen money from investors. Link to article

The 10 essential qualities an advisor must possess to become an “ethotic” leader in these days of rolling markets

Sometimes the fiduciary movement does not fully represent its true spirit. Put the customer first. Tell it like it is. Act like you are managing your mother’s money. Instead, we see words that seem like the cloaks that are supposed to be ripped away to expose what fees are being charged, with what impure motives. Link to article

How millennials challenge traditional leadership

Millennials say they don’t care about money, legacy or hierarchy, and instead aspire to be collaborative, empowering and transformational leaders. However, many millennials also say their organizations lack the necessary corporate training programs to get them there. Link to article

The Most Powerful Leadership Strength: Love

Leadership and love are probably difficult to perceive and accept together in the same sentence. The representations and biased concepts we might have of leadership rarely involve love. The idea about love just being emotions and feelings is in fact a bit misleading. Love is much more than emotions, feelings, and deep little secrets hidden in our precious hearts. Love is originally about reflection, commitment, kindness, forgiveness, and inclusiveness. More importantly, love strongly impacts people’s leadership behaviors in their daily life. Leadership is naturally rooted in love, which beautifully makes us who we are all as human beings. Link to article

THE COMPLETE LIST OF TOXIC BEHAVIORS THAT POISON TEAMS

9 habits of profoundly influential people

Influential people have a profound impact on everyone they encounter. Yet, they achieve this only because they exert so much influence inside, on themselves. We see only their outside. We see them innovate, speak their mind, and propel themselves forward toward bigger and better things. And, yet, we’re missing the best part. The confidence and wherewithal that make their influence possible are earned. It’s a labor of love that influential people pursue behind the scenes, every single day. And while what people are influenced by changes with the season, the unique habits of influential people remain constant. Their focused pursuit of excellence is driven by nine habits that you can […]